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H.J. Res 17, Transferring the Counties of Berkeley and Jefferson to the State of West Virginia, February 19, 1866

H.J. Res 17, Transferring the Counties of Berkeley and Jefferson to the State of West Virginia, February 19, 1866

The West Virginia Constitution called for the inclusion of Berkeley, Jefferson, and Frederick Counties as soon as they voted to ratify the state's constitution. Berkeley and Jefferson Counties voted to join West Virginia on February 4, 1863. Virginia contested the transfer of these two counties after the Civil War. In 1866, with this Joint Resolution originating in the House of Representatives and approved by the Senate, Congress officially recognized that Berkeley and Jefferson belonged to West Virginia. This transfer was later contested in the 1871 U.S. Supreme Court case Virginia v. West Virginia, in which the Court affirmed that the counties were part of West Virginia.